Israel's Spiritual Insight Impaired (MP 53)

Israel’s Spiritual Insight Impaired (MP 53)

From the lips of a vile sorcerer came
Words of truth from God, so the world might know
Of God’s Second Coming, on earth to reign
For a thousand years, His glories to show!
Alas, O Israel! If your eyes could see,
And your minds perceive, what God has in store,
Beyond these doleful woes of history,
You’d temper all tears, and tolerate more!
Hundreds of forecasts of future glories
God sprinkled throughout the pages of Writ*,
To help His own bear their tragic stories,
And implant them with persevering grit!
But these cheering aids pass by you unaired,
Your spiritual insight by sin impaired!
*Writ = Bible

Scripture Quoted: (NIV) [Brackets added]
Numbers 24:15-19—“Then he [Balaam the sorcerer] uttered his oracle [words from God]: ‘The words of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: I see him [Jesus Christ], but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star [Jesus Christ] will come out of Jacob [Israel]; a scepter [King] will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth [noisy boasters]. Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong. A ruler [Jesus Christ] will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.’ “

Isaiah 6:9-10—“He [God to Isaiah]] said, ‘Go and tell this people [Israel]: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’ “

Commentary on Israel’s Spiritual Insight Impairment
God has spoken through persons who are righteous, and He has spoken through those who are unrighteous as well. In Numbers 22-25 there is an incident involving a Gentile sorcerer named Balaam who spoke true words from God in a prophecy. This “fortune-teller” was employed by Balak, king of Moab, to put a curse on Israel, who were camped near Moab’s border. The Moabites were full of dread that Israel would invade and conquer their nation. Balaam knew about God, but he did not worship Him; he made use of God as one of the “tools” of his trade, so to speak. He was in fact a Baal worshiper. God warned Balaam not to go with Balak, but God let him go provided Balaam spoke only what God told him to say. After three tries, complete with animal sacrifices, with Balaam saying only nice things about Israel, he uttered the oracle quoted above.

This is a “prophecy” from God—a glimpse of what will happen in the future—and it is about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (God) to earth. The First Coming has already occurred (the New Testament reveals that over 300 such prophecies as the above in the Old Testament all came true), and these words don’t fit the First Coming. Jesus was a “star” out of Jacob, but He didn’t receive a “scepter”; but He will receive one the Second Coming; He will defeat those Arab nations the Second Coming, and He will rule with an iron scepter a thousand years. Therefore Balaam was speaking of something that hasn’t happened to this day (2011), but it will happen.

Israel had the Old Testament with all its prophesies for many years, but their religious leaders misconstrued or overlooked not only the prophecies but also many of the God-given laws and decrees. Their repeated rebellions against God, not just while wandering in the desert, but after they settled in Canaan, too, reveals their lack of trust in God and their failure to understand spiritual passages of scripture. In Deuteronomy 29:4 Moses told them they were calloused, unperceiving, blind and deaf to the truths God taught. Eight hundred years later (which was 700 years before Jesus was born) God placed a judgment upon Israel that further dulled their capacity to understand spiritual things (See Isaiah 6:9-10 quoted above). By that time it is obvious that God did not want Israel to accept Jesus as Messiah His First Coming to earth. Now, God knew from before creation how Israel would conduct themselves, and He prepared a redemption plan that turned salvation from Israel to the Gentiles; therefore, we can assume that He didn’t want Israel to accept Jesus, and He may have dulled them from Abraham, rather than Isaiah. When He comes the Second time, He will “free captive Israel”, and they will accept him en masse.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him sill not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)